The blast shook nearby homes and started a small fire after the bomb was detonated at around 4am on Sunday.

Officers were called to the scene after a neighbour had reported hearing a loud bang.

When they attended the Texaco petrol station in Amesbury Road, Weyhill, they found that the machine had been destroyed and the money from inside stolen. It is not yet clear how much money was stolen

A number of gas cylinders were found nearby.

Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Murray said: "Although this was a relatively contained explosion and fortunately no-one was injured, the unpredictable nature of this type of offence means we could easily have been dealing with serious injury or death.

"Our priority is to keep the public safe and by showing this CCTV footage, we hope it highlights how potentially dangerous an explosion of this type can be.

"We are aware of crimes of this nature occurring in mainland Europe which have had serious consequences and our advice to anyone using a cashpoint is to be extremely vigilant of any suspicious activity nearby.

"If you notice anything unusual, or see any wires or cables running from the machine, do not attempt to touch it and call the police immediately."

In Belgium in 2009, two robbers were killed after attempting to blow up an ATM in the town of Dinant with dynamite.

Police say the men, who were working at night, used far too much explosives. The bank collapsed and they were buried inside, but the ATM remained intact.

In 2010 criminals in Berlin miscalculated the amount of explosives they would need to open a cash point and ended up destroying the Volksbank.

They left the building in ruins and broke windows, doors and facades of other properties in a 500 yards radius. Again, when police and firemen combed the smoking ruins hours they found the safe and the cash machine in the lobby were still intact.

German police claimed at the time they believed that Eastern European gangs were behind the attack, the number of which have risen sharply in recent years.

Last year a second German bank - Sparkasse Bank in Nottuln - was also blown up when robbers miscalculated the amount of dynamite needed.

Chief Inspector Gary Cooper had advised the residents to avoid the area of the explosion on Sunday.

He added: "We understand the sound of an explosion shook some nearby homes and alarmed local residents.

"I would like to praise them for remaining calm and alerting the emergency services promptly."

There have been cases of blowing up cash machines to steal the money across the world, and a spate in Australia led police in the country to issue warnings that innocent people could be killed.